An English conman has been caught out masquerading as a heroic Scots soldier.
Nicholas MacDonald – who once posed as a Scottish clan chief – claimed to be former fusilier William “Kojak” Reid.
William, who won the Military Medal for bravery in Northern Ireland, passed away last month, at the age of 62.
But even after his death, MacDonald continued his sick pretence.
Furious former soldiers have now increased calls for the law to crack down on military fantasists.
Former Royal Signals soldier John Davis, who unearthed MacDonald’s lies, said: “He is a total conman. William Reid was a brave Highlander and is the man MacDonald claims to be.
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“We need to get justice for this brave Scotsman, especially now that he has passed on.
“MacDonald represents one of the worst, most heinous examples of stolen valour. There needs to be a change to the law to stop this kind of brazen deceit.”
We can also reveal that MacDonald, 63, has been axed from two leading veterans groups over his false claims of a glorious military career.
He claimed he joined the Royal Highland Fusiliers in the early 70s before serving in the Royal Military Police (RMP), seeing action in the Falklands and Northern Ireland, where he claimed to have won the Military Medal.
John said: “Veterans who have served and have seen comrades killed and maimed in action deserve nothing less than seeing justice here.
“MacDonald first claimed to be Fusilier Reid then went on to claim to be a highly decorated war hero in the Royal Military Police.
“All his claims are nonsense. MacDonald should be held up as a textbook case study of the stolen valour issue.”
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The Royal Military Police Association (RMPA) and Royal British Legion have both given MacDonald the boot.
The RMPA said he “had no service in the Armed Forces beyond a short and incomplete spell of basic military training in 1974”.
The RMPA added: “The association stands by its assertion that Mr MacDonald has no right to purport or appear to be a veteran of any standing and certainly not one who has earned the decorations and awards that he has claimed and worn.”
MacDonald was previously caught out living another fantasy as a clan chief.
He toured MacDonald lands in western Scotland in 1997, telling people he was a direct descendant of the clan, which had been without a chief since 1840.
When he presented his documents to Scotland’s senior genealogist, the Lord Lyon King of Arms, his claim was approved.
But MacDonald’s fraud was later exposed and he got a 30-month jail sentence.
The scam began after MacDonald read about how no one had come forward to claim the title of MacDonald clan chief for more than 150 years. Reading Crown Court heard he decided such an identity would give him the respectability he craved.
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He changed his name by deed poll and used the birth certificate of a dead baby to apply for a passport.
MacDonald also admitted using false identities to con his way into three security jobs.
He first invented a new identity to hide his criminal record – including two spells in prison – so he could apply for work.
MacDonald admitted eight charges, including deception and theft.
Confronted about masquerading as hero William, he said: “I don’t want to speak to you. I don’t care what it’s all about.”
Last year, a leading veterans’ campaigner backed calls for a Scottish “stolen valour" law which would make it easier to prosecute fake veterans.
Angus councillor and former Black Watch major Ronnie Proctor said it would address a “deeply concerning” problem.
A spokesman for the Walter Mitty Hunters Club, which seeks to expose forces phonies, said: “It is insulting to those who served and those who have lost loved ones paying the ultimate sacrifice.”
